Forever yours, but is it faithfully?
by RKmonchele
Summary: Lea and Ashton Kutcher have to fake a real life relationship to get more people to see their movie 'New Year's Eve'. Because of that Cory discovers that his old crush he had on Lea isn't quite over yet. Cory will do everything to get Lea to be his girl, but Ashton is not letting that happen so easy. Cory and Lea's POV.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: 08/25/2011**

'So in all of the interviews and press conferences for New Year's Eve you and Ashton are going to be so madly in love that you don't even know how you ever managed living without him, got it?'

Lea sighed, as quiet as she could so her PR assistant didn't hear her. Lea was told to pretend to be in a relationship with Ashton so the movie would do better or whatever, and she was not digging it so far. Ashton was great and very intelligent, but not her type and she guessed it could get awkward really quickly between them if they had to pretend to be each other's meaning of life. She hadn't even discussed this whole act of love with him yet and in about an hour was their first press conference.

'Got it!' Was her overenthusiastic and oh so fake answer. She ended the conversation and texted Ashton.

_hey Ashton! So… I think you've heard what they're expecting from us. Let's just do our best to convince people and we'll see how it goes further. I have no idea how I'm going to pull this off but okay, see you later_

_xx Lea_

She put her phone down and ran upstairs to get ready for a new day which included three hours of press conferences and after that she was expected at the Glee set to shoot a scene with Cory. Working with Cory had been the thing she enjoyed the most about Glee. He was always such a goof and easy-going, no pressure to entertain each other and no awkward silences. Working with Ashton had been very different, he was way harder to please than with just a smile. He was quite egocentric and controlling, but she had managed to hide those feelings towards him and she had always been friendly. After putting on some clothes, she decided that she looked decent enough for some interviews. Her mood always reflected on her look, if she was happy, she looked great. And if she wasn't or just didn't feel like doing what she had to do that day, well… then she looked like this, she thought to herself as she looked in the mirror. But she couldn't care less at the moment. She gave Sheila, her cat, a last hug and left her house.

—-

She arrived at the Beverly Wilshire and immediately saw her assistant, Kristen, who was running up to her, her arms in the position to give Lea the biggest hug ever. They greeted and hugged each other and Kristen started to inform Lea about what was happening today which was nothing what Lea didn't expect, some interviews here and there, nothing more. And there he was, Ashton just stood there looking like he owned the whole place, ugh he was so annoying at times. Lea didn't know how, but from the moment her PA assistant told her that she had to fake a relationship with Ashton, he had just become so much more annoying. That didn't even make sense, but Lea just felt that way about him. She just had to get through these next few hours and then she could go back to Glee, her safe haven.

She and Ashton greeted each other with a friendly kiss on the cheek, the tension too heavy to really do something else.

"So, did you get my text?" Lea started.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to these interviews, to see how it turns out." Lea glanced at Ashton, and he had the biggest grin on his face which Lea wanted to punch off his face. Stay calm, Lea, stay calm she told herself.

"It'll be something different, that's for sure…." was all that she could say.

Their assistants led them to a room and set them up for their interviews, making Lea having to sit extremely close to Ashton. Oh God, how was I ever going to get through today? Lea asked herself.

And then the first interview started. It was with a dude from Europe. At the beginning of the interview, Ashton directly placed his hands on Lea's knees, making it impossible for her to escape. And so the first question was asked.

"So, what did you like the most about working with each other?"

Lea cringed, impatiently waiting for his answer. But before he answered, Ashton gave Lea a heartfelt look, shouting with love. And if Lea didn't know better, she would have fallen for it. But she did know better and she didn't fall for it because it was the same look he gave her in the movie, when their two characters had love scenes together. Then he formed his answer.

"Working with Lea has been a very extraordinary experience, and I couldn't have wished for a better actress to work with. Her dedication and amount of effort she put into this movie has been superior. And look at her, she's absolutely stunning and just so adorable" and yes, there was that look again. Lea couldn't help but blush at his words. But at the same moment, she felt like she was going to be sick. It just did not feel good at all. Lea felt the need to say something as a reply but she couldn't think of something that would top his answer.

"The feeling is mutual!"

Lea mentally slapped herself. Really, Lea, really? Is that all you can come up with? She felt like she wasn't as convincing as he was, so she topped her performance with a long stare at Ashton, putting as much love in it as she felt she could. Apparently it was enough because she glanced over at her assistant who was smiling at her, nodding yes as in you're doing a great job.

And these kind of interviews continued for about 3 hours, even though Lea thought they would never end, they eventually did. Around the fifth interview, Lea begun to relax around Ashton and it begun to feel comfortable again like it was on set when she had to work with him. He wasn't a total douche like she thought he was this morning, which made absolutely no sense since Lea knew Ashton already for a small year.

Lea said her goodbyes to her assistants, who complimented her on her love performance today, and then she turned to Ashton.

"Hey, um see you in two days to continue our deep interviews?" she laughed, extremely relaxed.

Ashton turned to her with a huge smile on his face.

"Yes! Looking forward to it, today was so much fun. And you know I meant all those things I said about you Lea…"

Lea felt like the earth disappeared under her feet, her head was pounding. What? Is he serious? Some of the things he said were very inappropriate for 'just friends' and everyone in the room knew that from the moment Ashton said them. Lea just smiled highly uncomfortable and turned her head.

"Aw, Ashton, yeah I meant them too…" Lea knew she wasn't fooling anyone. She hardly said the words today, she just spit them out. Lea just wanted to say goodbye as Ashton grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer into his chest. Lea stopped breathing and tried to avoid any eye contact what so ever.

"No Lea, I mean it. You really mean a lot to me and I couldn't even imagine how I would've done this movie without you."

Lea felt that her cheeks were getting more red by the second. His words had a double effect on her. On one side they confused her and made her feel highly uncomfortable. But on the side they warmed her heart, because in contraire to the first interview they did that day, she felt like he actually meant them. She never thought about Ashton in that way. He had his bad sides, but didn't everyone? And sure he was a bit careless towards other people but maybe if they were in a relationship, he'd maybe actually care about her?

Lea shook her head, needing to ban those thought out of her head right now. He was freaking Ashton Kutcher, famous lady man, his ex-girlfriend being Demi so flawless Moore.

"And you know…," Ashton continued, "I think we should give this relationship thingy an actual try instead of just faking it for the cameras.."

Lea was now convinced she was bright red and felt like fainting, this was too much to handle right now. How can Ashton only now be into her? It just didn't really make sense to her.

"Wow Ashton, um you're screwing with my mind right now… I had no idea you felt about me in that kind of way…" Lea knew she was avoiding the actual question because she could just not answer that one right now.

"You knew I thought you were stunning and hilarious, didn't you? And then during one of the interviews of today I just thought to myself: why not give it a try?"

And in that moment Lea was thinking exactly the same, why not? Ashton was, in one word, hot. And also very funny, he just had some ego problems but maybe he would eventually change if she spent enough time with him…

"That's one way of thinking about it…" Lea said.

"You know what? I'm taking you out on a date Saturday."

Lea's brain was all tangled right now, but the idea of a date with Ashton did sound good to her and she could use some distraction in general with all the stress around this whole movie promotion thing. It was Thursday right now and Saturday they still had some press to do.

"Yeah sure why not?" Was Lea's genuine reply.

"Okay cool, I'll pick you up around 7. Well goodbye for now!" He gave Lea a kiss on the check and a long hug and he left.

Lea was still very confused about what actually happened that day and was relieved when she realized she could go to Glee right now and just hang out with her friends who were like family to her.

**NOTE:**

**This is my first fic I have ever written, so reviews and (good or bad) comments are appreciated! Okay so this fic IS a Monchele one, I'm extremely sorry this chapter didn't contain Cory/Monchele, but I promise that the second chapter WILL include him. I love Cory way too much to let him out for more than one chapter. So as a fangirl, I do not like this whole Ashton/Lea relationship, but as a writer, you'll just have to wait and see if I make them endgame or not.**

**Chapter two will be published in the next week for sure, so hopefully you'll continue to read it! ****J**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: 08/26/2011**

Cory woke up at 9 am on the Friday morning, his last day of work this week on the Glee set. Yesterday he had shot a scene with Lea who was extremely tensed and on her guard the whole time, like she had a secret she was embarrassed of or something. Cory sensed her mood immediately and tried as hard as he could to make her feel comfortable again, which he succeeded in eventually. Cory was curious of why she was acting this strange around him because they always have had a very natural chemistry and their friendship meant the world to him. He had one more hour to get to set so he figured he should probably get up and get ready, but Cory didn't feel like it so he grabbed his phone and started scrolling through Twitter and YouTube. On the front page of YouTube was this stupid update of the CleverNews channel which he had subscribed to for an unknown reason because it was all freaking bullshit. The headline was, 'Lea Michele and Ashton Kutcher getting extremely close in the Beverly Wilshire…'

Without thinking Cory clicked on it and basically it was a video where Ashton was being a fucking asshole like all the time and Lea just kissing his ass praising him like crazy. Out of nowhere Cory felt an anger rage up inside him towards Ashton and Lea, which made no sense since she and Cory weren't in any physical or mental relationship whatsoever. Cory had all kinds of emotions right now for example anger, confusion and most of all just pain. And he didn't get where all these emotions were coming from… He and Lea never had something more than just an honest and real friendship. When they were shooting the first episodes of the first season of Glee, sure he had a tiny, maybe huge, crush on her. But back then Lea had just broken up with her boyfriend and she was still very much damaged by that so making a move on her back then just felt disrespectful. And from then he kind of ignored his feelings towards her because he figured out it would never happen, I mean, she was Lea freaking Michele, Broadway star, he thought to himself. But now, out of nowhere, he felt protective and obsessive over her.  
Cory shook his head, he could absolutely NOT behave himself like that around Lea today. He looked at the clock: 9.20 am, he should really get up right now. Okay, he thought to himself, he was going to get dressed and then go to set, he was going to act normal, if not happy for her, and everything would just be fine and they would be friends forever. And with that attitude Cory got ready for the new day.

Cory drove his car onto the FOX parking lot. He was still very much thinking about the whole Lea/Ashton thing, but he had to behave himself normally because it was in fact just a normal work day, he thought to himself.  
He got out of his car and went to his trailer to get his hair and make-up done, which took a good 2 hours. It was mostly him pretending to listen to his make-up artist and nodding at the right time, hoping it wasn't a question. His planning of today was to shoot two choir room scenes with everyone, him having to be cute with Lea's character in the background. He was getting quite nervous to be around Lea but he kept telling himself that he could not make a fuss about whatever was going on with Ashton. So after his hair and make-up and getting into his Finn clothes, he went to set. And there she was, scrolling through her phone. He smiled at her, knowing she couldn't see him, but still. As usual, she took his breath away. Even with her hair and make-up done as Rachel Berry, Lea's character, she still looked amazing. She brought so much joy to him, and for a moment he forgot about the whole Ashton thingy. But only for a moment… He walked up to her, with a smile on his face, trying his best to be cool.

"Hey Cory!" Lea shouted.

Cory coughed nervously. "Um, hey…" Oh shit, he thought to himself, that sounded way worse than he wanted to sound and Lea directly sensed his tension.

"Wow okay, hold up. Let me think… Did the Canucks lose or did you burn your chicken? Because I am sensing some serious frustration." Lea giggled at her own comment.

Cory chuckled, realizing Lea is probably the only one who knows Cory that well to know that if he was angry, those were most-likely the reasons. But this time neither of them were the problem. And just at the moment Cory wanted to answer Lea, their director Brad Falchuk called them both to go over the scene.

"So you two are just going to dance in the background to the song Dianna is performing and at the end of the performance you just kind of stare at each other. You know what I mean, just… act like you're in love!"

Great, thought Cory, absolutely great.

And so they started rolling and Cory told himself to get over his personal issues with Lea right now and to get into his acting modus being Finn, which he succeeded in. They managed to shoot the scene twice without any interfering. Hours of shooting past without any problems or conversations between Cory and Lea. Without thinking about everything, Cory still felt like Lea was his best friend and he just felt genuinely good about himself when he was around her. But his mind wasn't as easy to convince as his heart, and if he would allow his thoughts to wander off they would eventually end up with Ashton and Lea. He had to do something about this mess, very soon. After they wrapped up, he tried to start a conversation with Lea, to clear his head.

"I am exhausted, I should really consider going to bed earlier on work days. How are you?"

Really Cory, was this your genius conversation starter? He sighed, only so loud he could hear it, waiting for Lea's answer.

"Um, yes, same here. Yesterday's Glee shoot AND the New Year's Eve promotion really tired me out…"

Cory cringed at Lea talking about her movie's promotion, he had no idea why, but it got to him.

"Yeah, about that, how is everything going between you and Ashton?"

No no no no nooooooo, this is absolutely not what Cory wanted to say, but he just couldn't keep that question inside. He looked down at Lea, who had turned bright red. He just wanted to hug her because she didn't deserve this shit from him. He was doing the exact opposite of what he wanted to do, but he just couldn't help himself. He was acting like a jerk and wanted to punch himself for it, she didn't have to justify her love towards Ashton. Cory couldn't hold Lea's silence any longer.

"You know what, don't even answer that. I saw one of your very cozy interviews this morning" Cory was acting like a 5-year old, and God knew why. Now it was Lea's turn to say something.

"Oh so that was bothering you today? Because I didn't tell you that me and Ashton are…"

Cory's heart stopped. Are what? Dating? In a relationship?

And was Lea really that naive that she thought that was bothering him? That she didn't tell him there was something going on between her and Ashton? Did she really think that was the problem?

"I don't know Lea. I honestly don't know how to feel right now. I'm just gonna go home and try to forget about it because it makes me feel sick to be quite honest."

And that was the honest truth, even though Lea probably thought it was because he wasn't the first one to know or that he didn't like Ashton. And those two reasons were also playing a part in his anger but there was one reason that she didn't know, and it was this little thingy, annoying as fuck, called jealousy. He looked down at Lea who was almost crying and it felt so so so wrong. She looked so vulnerable and all he wanted to was to pull her into his chest and to kiss her hair saying everything would be alright. But with this jealousy feeling, there was also anger and pain because she obviously preferred Ashton above him. So he couldn't comfort her right now, because he would, once again, put someone else's feelings above his. He decided to end the conversation there and glanced down at Lea for the last time. Tears were running down her cheeks, but above all, she looked angry and Cory couldn't blame her, so he left.

He arrived at his house at around 8 pm, which was unusually early for a work day. If he had to describe his mood right now in one word, it would be 'crap'. And with that feeling he decided to just go to bed.

**NOTE: **  
**Hey, hope you guys liked this chapter and don't want to strangle me. As a writer I have to write how I think things would go in real life. So this is how I would imagine things would go. Hopefully you'll continue to read to see how everything goes further (:**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: 08/27/2011**

Lea woke up on the Saturday morning and checked her phone: 10.30 am. She didn't have work today, so she had enjoyed a good lie in. She got up and went downstairs to greet Sheila and to make herself some breakfast and coffee. After the caffeine began to kick in, she asked herself what she had planned for today. it felt like her stomach was making a turn of 360 degrees at the moment she remembered.

Right, she had a date with Ashton tonight. Right, Cory was pretty pissed with her. Right, she had been feeling devastated since that conversation with Cory.

She let herself fall into her couch. Well she also felt pretty angry. Cory was acting like a complete idiot about it. And just because he didn't like Ashton? And the worst thing about this whole damn situation is that she felt guilty about it too when she obviously shouldn't feel that way. You know what? Screw Cory. And just as that thought crossed her mind, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She grabbed it and saw Cory had texted her. she held her breath as she opened it.

_Hey Lea,_

_I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry for the way I behaved myself yesterday._

_Is there any way we can meet each other today? _

_There's something I have to tell you…_

_Let me know,_

_C. _

She slowly started breathing again. Okay, that wasn't too bad. He probably just wanted to apologize in person, and after yesterday's drama, he damn right had to. And for the second time that day Lea felt guilty. But this time it was because she was more looking forward to meeting Cory that day than going on a date with Ashton. She texted him back, saying that he could come over at around 2 pm.

Lea looked at her phone: 1.58 pm. Cory could be here any minute, and that thought was terrifying her. What was she even going to say? 'Sorry, Cory, but I got a date tonight with a man you dislike with a passion, so could you please hurry up?' Lea shook her head and decided she wasn't going to mention her date. It would only cause even more trouble. She entered her twitter app on her phone when her doorbell rang. Without thinking, she sprinted to her door. When she got there, she stood still in front of it. At the other side was her best friend, why was she so nervous? It didn't make any sense. Again without further thinking, she opened the door. There he was, her best friend that she couldn't live without. She had to pull herself together. He was wearing the jeans she gave him at his birthday. She smiled at him and Cory returned the smile, breaking the ice. Lea had to admit to herself that Cory looked amazing, as usual. About a minute had passed without them saying something to each other, they were just kind of dumbly smiling. Until Cory finally said something

"You look great, Lea"

Lea blushed at his words, but was too scared to say the same about him.

"Um, come in…."

Cory followed her lead and they went to her living room, where they both sat down on separate couches.

"Lea, I…"

Cory started but stopped mid-sentence. Lea decided to wait to say something and just stared at him.

"I'm so sorry, Lea, I acted like a child. I just don't like the guy and personally I think he's not genuinely interested in you in that kinda way…"

These words made Lea furious.

"What do you mean, Cory? Am I not pretty enough for him? He can do better than me? Because if that's what you're thinking, you can leave because frankly to him, I am."

Cory turned bright red and just stared at her. He was obviously shocked, Lea could tell. Well, he deserved it.

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant, Lea! It just all seemed weird to me…"

Lea didn't know how to answer that, because it had seemed weird to her as well. She looked in her lap, hoping that she didn't have to break the silence that was ruling right now. After a couple of seconds, Cory started talking again.

"I just hope you'll accept my apologies…"

Lea didn't think twice about her answer, she had to get things back as they used to be with Cory.

"Of course I accept them!"

That sounded way too desperate, Lea thought, and she was sure Cory sensed it too.

"And, there was another thing I really wanted to tell you, Lea…"

Oh god, lea thought to herself, that didn't sound good. She looked up at Cory, who was staring at her, waiting for an answer. Lea gently nodded her head. Cory continued.

"I kinda have been dealing with some pretty fucked up feelings from the moment I saw that interview of you and Ashton… Look, Lea, I'm going to be honest here. It takes a lot from me to express all my feelings, but I'm prepared to tell you how I feel, because you deserve to know."

Alarm bells were going off in Lea's head. This did not sound good and Lea didn't say a thing. She had been staring at Cory this whole time. He looked so vulnerable and Lea definitely could tell he was struggling finding his words. She wanted to go over and hug him so badly. Cory continued again.

"Okay here's the deal…", Cory breathed in and out a couple of times, "whenever I think about you and Ashton, it makes me feel sick. And not because I don't like him… But because I kinda figured out that I like you… In the way that Ashton likes you …"

Lea was gob smacked, she did not expect this. She looked up at Cory, who had been staring at her waiting for an answer. His eyes were filled with tears. Oh no, he should definitely not be feeling this way. She had the urge to go over to him and to hug him, but that wouldn't make things easier for her. This was a lot of information coming her way. She was confused. Her love life had been shit for the last couple of months. And now she had two men in the same week saying that they wanted more with her than just a friendship? Cory was still staring at her, his eyes hopefully looking at her. She had to say something.

"Wow, Cory. This is a whole lot to process right now… I don't know if- "

Cory stood up and made his way out of the room, making Lea stop talking.

"Cory, where are you going?"

Lea felt hurt, why was he leaving?

"Because I should've never told you this. It's not even relevant to you. You have something going on with Ashton, and it was again childish of me to admit these feelings I have towards you. I'm leaving …"

And he kept on walking to Lea's door. He stopped when he reached the door and turned towards Lea who had been following him. They stared at each other for a good couple of seconds. And what then happened, Lea could never fully describe. She enclosed his face with her two hands and pulled him towards her and softly placed her lips on his. It was magical. The kiss lasted for only a moment before she pulled back. She felt like she was going to pass out or something, her lips were tingling with electricity from where he'd touched her a few seconds ago.

"Oh my god, Cory, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that. I didn't mean to confuse you or myself anymore."

She looked up at Cory, who was also still shocked by Lea's deeds.

"Do you regret it?", Cory asked her.

Did she? Lea didn't know, but it had felt right at the moment itself. Right now, she wasn't as sure.

"I don't know Cory, you've just dropped a bomb on me with the things you said. I need time to think, and I would appreciate you indeed leaving right now…"

She was scared of Cory's reaction to her painful words, so her eyes were locked with the ground. She heard her door opening and closing and she looked up, realizing Cory had indeed left.

Lea looked at herself in the mirror. She had to admit that she looked pretty good in her white classic schoolgirl dress. Her hair was still wet from the shower she had taken. Showering had always improved her thinking. And thinking right now was necessary since she had a lot to think about right now. Cory, the kiss between her and Cory, if she was going to tell Ashton about Cory… She decided that she was just going to wait and see with Cory and she wasn't planning on telling Ashton anything about what happened today. Ashton was going to pick her up in 5 minutes. Lea was so nervous, she could hardly put on her eye make-up, her fingers were shaking so badly. And for the second time that day, her doorbell rang. She had no idea of how she was going to behave. Would she behave normally, or would Ashton sense her weird behavior and suspect something was going on? She ran downstairs and opened the door. And there he was, standing there with his arrogant smile. She really could do without this date tonight, but she had to pull herself together.

"Hi Ashton!" She tried to sound enthusiastic.

"Hi Lea, you look incredible!"

Lea blushed at his words and she felt terrible because of it. It was as if this had already happened that same day but with another guy, Cory, and both of them had no clue that Lea met with them both. Even Lea had no clue of what she was doing, but she was going to have to make a decision very soon, because she was seriously playing with both of their feelings.

"So… where are you taking me?" Lea asked

"It's called 'Luciano' and it's a new Italian restaurant. I figured you'd enjoy it since you _are_ Italian" Ashton laughed at his own comment. Lea could hardly smile, she was so nervous.

"Well, at least you've been paying attention." Lea murmured.

And they left in two separate cars, Lea following Ashton.

They both sat down at a table in the corner of the restaurant. Lea ordered penne pasta with tomato sauce and garlic bread and Ashton ordered lasagna. They were both enjoying their meal when Ashton started a conversation.

"So tell me Lea, what have you been up to today?"

Well, fuck. Act normal, Lea, just act normal and lie, she thought to herself. But even though Lea was an actress, lying never came as easy as acting to her.

"Nothing much, just um…. Just hung around the house with Sheila, my cat…"

She looked up at Ashton who was staring at her. If her face, that had turned as red as her tomato sauce, didn't reveal her lie, her stuttering definitely did. But Ashton was too much of an asshole to care about it.

"interesting…" Ashton continued, clearly not amused, "Well, I went over to Demi's house."

Lea almost chocked in her garlic bread, Demi was Ashton's ex… Lea was furious. Okay, Lea had seen Cory too that day, but at least she had the decency to lie about it. And Cory wasn't even her ex.

"Why would you do that? You told me a couple of months ago you broke it off with her for good…"

Ashton took another sip of his wine and looked around the restaurant, not feeling any pressure to answer her any time soon.

"I don't know for sure yet. We're going to go out for a couple of dates again and then we'll see. No pressure anymore."

Lea was shocked, she knew Ashton was a ladies man but what the hell was he thinking?

"What are you doing here with me then? I mean why would you be seeing me when you obviously still have feelings for someone else?"

And for the second Ashton was looking at her like he didn't understand the problem.

"Well, as I said, I don't know what's happing with Demi. And as long as I don't know, you're a pretty good company to keep me entertained." He laughed, making it clear that he was joking.

But Lea wasn't convinced, every joke always hides some truth. And in that moment Lea was officially done with this night.

"Well, Ashton, I've done my best to shut up about your attitude this whole evening and I'm done with keeping my mouth right now. If you don't very quickly make up your mind about it, you can forget about me entertaining you. And even if you decide things aren't going to work out with Demi, I have no idea if I'll be interested in you after all. Being second choice does certainly not appeal to me. I'm going to leave now, please don't try and stop me."

Lea got up, leaving her meal unfinished and stormed out of the restaurant, in true Rachel Berry way. She was so mad but above all she felt good about herself for finally standing up to him. And this gave Lea a reason to dump this whole relationship thing with Ashton, which wouldn't have worked in a million years. Tomorrow morning she was just going to call her assistants and tell them she was immediately going to quit this whole 'love in front of the camera' thingy with Ashton. The movie would do well because it was beautiful and worth your time, not because her and Ashton were pretending to date. Lea had no idea why, but tears were streaming down her face when she got into her car. Of course she was hurt because Ashton used her, and that fucking sucked. And then Cory popped into her mind… And in that moment she couldn't think about anyone else and she was on her way to his house.

**NOTE:**

**Hey! Hope you liked this chapter! We had some Monchele cuteness in it hehe. Continue to read to find out what will happen between Lea and Cory that same evening. Greetings, Jessica (:. **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: 08/27/2011

Cory was sitting on his couch, watching national geographic. He had always liked this channel, random knowledge couldn't hurt, right? It was already 12 pm and he was getting tired. Today had been so confusing. He went over to Lea's in the afternoon and it was still keeping his thoughts busy. He planned on telling Lea that he had feelings for her, confusing feelings, but still feelings. So he did and her reaction was everything but clear. At first she didn't react and he ran away, then she kissed him and then she asked him to leave. He felt shit about it. The only species on this planet who can confuse him like this, were most-definitely women. He ignored the urge to text Lea right now. He told her how he felt about her and if she wanted to return those feelings or whatever, she had to clearly tell him. Just thinking about Lea and the kiss of today made him feel ecstatic. But then again, he could clearly remember Lea's words telling him to leave. And there was the usual ache in his stomach when he thought about Lea. He had no idea of what he was going to do Monday, when he had scenes with Lea on Glee again. But those were thoughts for later and he pushed them away. They were just talking about shark attacks on TV when his phone vibrated, telling him he received a text. Who the heck was texting at this hour? He thought himself.

_Hey Cory,_

_Um, don't freak or think I'm a freak buuuuut,_

_I'm in front of your door right now, I didn't want to ring the doorbell because maybe you're sleeping…. Can I please come in? I really need to talk to you…_

_Xx, Lea. _

Cory jumped out of her couch and literally sprinted to his front door. He had to see Lea's face, but he didn't understand why she was at his house right now? But at that moment that didn't bother him, he just wanted to see her.

He opened the door and there she stood, tears dripping down her face, looking so vulnerable yet so gorgeous in the dress that she was wearing. He could tell that she was dressed up for something, her mascara was all over her eyes. Cory's first instinct was to wrap his arms around her tiny body and to comfort her but there were way too many unsolved problems hanging in the air, so instead he just stood there clueless. Shit, he had to do something, if it was only asking her to come in, so he did and they headed to Cory's living room. Once in the house, Lea's eyes were on full Niagara falls mode and Cory couldn't stand it anymore. He pulled her into her chest, comforting her for about 2 minutes.

"I'm so sorry I came here, I just didn't know where else I could go. Fuck fuck fuck."

Cory had no idea of what he had to here, but he figured that just being a good friend right now would be in its place, so he put his feelings and frustration towards her on the side.

"Lea, you know you can always come here when something is bothering you, please do tell… I mean if you want to..."

Cory was nervous and he was sure Lea could feel it to. He had to seriously calm down, Lea was the one who needed guidance right now, not the other way around.

"Well, basically you were right…I saw Ashton tonight and he basically told me everything you already knew. He isn't over Demi, and he couldn't care to inform me. Like I'm just a child interfering in a grownup relationship, not worthy of hearing the truth. He didn't even consider me as girlfriend material. He just wanted to get laid, I'm fucking sure. I had to believe you because your instincts are always 100% right. But I'm the one to blame, what was I thinking? Why would any guy, with Demi Moore as his ex, even look my way? I've never been pretty enough for guys like that, like you…"

As Lea said this, she was shaking and crying uncontrollably. Did she really think that? Cory couldn't keep his mouth shut about that subject, even though he was ruining his chances of just genuinely being a supportive friend right now. But he had to say it.

"Lea, are you serious? Please tell me you're not, because you're the most adorable girl I've ever meet-'

And before Cory could continue, Lea stopped him by shouting:

"See? That's exactly what I am. Nothing but an adorable tiny girl, who looks like a fucking 12-year old with my 5 ft. 3. "

Cory was just appalled that anyone in their right mind would actually think that way about this stunning New Yorker girl standing in front of him, even if it was Lea herself.

"Lea, please, I wasn't finished. Okay I'm going to put it this way, I'm so sorry for being a cliché guy but, you're the sexiest girl I know…Then you add your bubbly outgoing personality and I know tons of guys who went crazy of it…Ashton must be crazy for letting someone as amazing as you go."

Cory gently studied Lea's expressions when he was saying all of this. Her face lit up by the second. But Cory also felt like he freaked her out. He couldn't possibly be here for her right now as just a friend after he said that.

"Cory…I'm not quite sure what to say right now…"

And as Lea said that, she lent in to kiss him on the lips, for the second time in these past two days. All Cory wanted to do right now is to lean in and kiss his gorgeous co-actress. But he couldn't shake the feeling off that he was only second choice for her, making Ashton her first. Cory took a step back, which made Lea tear up again. Shit shit shit, he was literally doing everything wrong right now. He basically just told Lea everything he had been feeling about her, getting her hopes up, and now he rejected her. Lea's face, wet from the tears, looked hurt and shocked.

"Lea, no… You can't just go around kissing guys. It doesn't solve anything. 5 minutes ago you were having a breakdown because of an another guy, how do you think that that makes me feel?"

Lea's face still looked shocked and hurt. But Cory couldn't give in that quickly, it just didn't feel right. So he continued.

"Right now, you're obviously heartbroken, and I understand that. So I just want to be here for you as a friend, you're confused about your feelings right now Lea, believe me."

At this point Lea just lost it. God, I'm the worst at this comforting thing, Cory thought to himself.

"Why the hell is this happening to me? First two of the most important guys in my life tell me they maybe feel something more towards me than just friends and then they both reject me? Fuck!"

Cory was so confused, why was she putting it that way? He was now about 99% sure she was drunk. And as soon as he realized that, he figured he couldn't blame Lea for anything she was saying right now and that he had to get her home safely. But before he suggested taking her home, Lea dropped herself on his couch

"I'm sorry for putting you through all of my crap. I don't even know why I'm here, it's like my brain couldn't think about anything else but the route to your house, I -"

Cory didn't let Lea finish her sentence and he reached down to her hands and sat next to her.

"Lea, I'm still your best friend, nothing of what happened this week has changed that."

He looked from their hands, entangled with each other's, to her eyes, who were still wet but she wasn't crying anymore, which made Cory feel relieved. He hated to see her cry. And in that moment he just had to hug her, which he did. And it felt nothing but right, strangely enough.

"I'm going to get you some water," Cory said, pulling himself back from their hug, "stay here!"

He gave Lea his heartfelt smile and left to his kitchen. Once there, he reflected on everything that just had happened. Now Cory felt like it was his turn to break down. It was so hard for him to not go in on Lea's kiss, but he knew he just couldn't. His stomach was making loops and it felt just as wrong as it felt right. He had no choice than to wait until she was sobered up. He grabbed a glass and filled it with water and made his return to the living room. And there he found Lea with her eyes closed, curled up in a ball on his couch. Cory couldn't help but smile at her, she looked so adorable. He thought about the things he could do right now and figured that carrying her into his guest room was his best option. So he gently put his fingers on her waist and pulled her up. And even though Lea was still sleeping, she automatically put her legs on each side of his body like a toddler. Cory stood still for a second, smiling at was happening. He had fantasized a lot about how he and Lea would spend their first night together in the same house, and this did certainly not come close to any of that. But somehow Cory still felt like this was a moment he would remember for life.

**NOTE:**

**Hey guys, I'm sorry if I'm torturing you, but I have to keep it real.**

**Please please PLEASE review it (good or bad) so I know how you guys feel about it.**

**Thank you for sticking with this story xo Jessica**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: 08/28/2011**

The next morning, Cory yawned as he slowly woke up. He looked from outside his window to the clock besides his bed, noticing 1. It was going to be a beautiful day and 2. It was 9.41 am. It had always taken Cory a good few minutes to really wake up and this morning wasn't any different. After rubbing his eyes and yawning a few times, he got out of bed, craving coffee. When he was about halfway down the stairs he stood still realizing it wasn't a normal Sunday morning. The girl he had had a little crush (well little, he told himself it was little, but then again he also told himself that he didn't need his mom to do his laundry, even though he shrunk his clothes on a weekly basis) on was in his guestroom. His mind went blank. What was he supposed to do now? Leave her or wake her up? He shrugged, of course he wouldn't wake her up, he had learned that the hard way. You should NEVER wake up a girl. Only of course if you want to be yelled at the entire day. And he also remembered that Lea was pretty drunk last night, so she would most-likely have a huge hangover. He sighed and continued his way downstairs. He found his way to his coffee machine and noticed that it was already on. He looked at it as a confused puppy. Did he make a coffee for Lea last night and forgot to turn it off? And then he saw the note beside it.

'Hey Cory… I had to get up early since I have a cover shoot today for ELLE that I told you about a while ago. I showered and had a coffee, hope you don't mind… I have a bunch of things to say to you, so could you please text me when you wake up so I can call you when I have a free moment… Thanks

Lea.'

Cory's mood directly dropped and he had no idea why. But he figured that it was probably because he realized that he was in fact home alone and Lea wasn't upstairs. He made himself a coffee and grabbed his phone to text Lea. The next thing he knew, he was in his guest room, looking around to see any clues that might hint him that Lea slept in here last night. But he didn't find anything that led to her stay, even the bed was perfectly made again. So he decided to just lay down on the bed and think about yesterday evenings' events. He replayed the whole thing in his mind over and over again, each time regretting his actions even more. He declined Lea's kiss. He had hurt Lea. Lea thought that he didn't want to kiss her. But he did, Cory told himself, he so wanted to. But he knew he did the right thing. Kissing Lea yesterday would've made things even more confusing. And he didn't even know if Lea actually wanted it too, I mean she was drunk. And when he says drunk, he really means drunk. He had no idea how Lea managed to drive to his house yesterday, knowing that Lea and driving is a bad match. And drunk Lea and driving is just a match made in hell. He mentally slapped himself realizing he was being such a girl right now, what was he even doing? He was laying down in a bed that Lea slept in, just to feel close to her. He practically jumped up by the thought of that. He could not behave like this, so he decided to shower and patiently wait for Lea to call him. He undressed himself and got in the shower, noticing that the floor was still wet and the shampoo lid was off. He smiled at the thought of Lea being naked in HIS shower a couple of hours ago. Oh god he was really crossing the line of crushing on her and actually obsessing, he thought to himself. He grabbed the shampoo and started to rub it in his hair, when his phone rang which was lying down on one of his shelves across the room. he was covered in shampoo and soap but he couldn't care less at that moment. he opened the shower door and shivered at the sudden temperature drop his naked body experienced. He ran to his phone, but slipped halfway because his feet were still wet and fell onto his butt making him shout at the top of his lungs

"FUCK FUCK FUCK OUCH"

He got up and made it just in time to his phone and saw it was Lea calling.

"Hey you" He said as smooth as he could right now, which wasn't really that convincing.

"Hey Cory" Cory heard her smile come through, which made him even more nervous and he kept quiet, waiting for Lea to continue.

"Um yeah, as I wrote down, I have a bunch of things to say what I'd rather do in person… Would you mind me coming over again?" Lea laughed. "At least, I'm warning you about it this time."

The thought of Lea coming over last night, unnanounced, made him laugh too. And as Cory was laughing, his wet feet made him fall again. This time making him find himself on his back on the floor and there were his angry shouts again.

"FUUUUUCK WHAT DID I EVER DO TO DESERVE THIS!"

"Cory! Are you okay?" Lea sounded panicky.

"Yes, it's just that I just jumped out of the shower to answer your call and I didn't have time to grab a towel and now I keep falling over my wet feet." Did he really just tell her that? That was not what you were supposed to tell someone who you were in an awkward position with. But then again, how could it ever be awkward with Lea? Lea was his lifelong pall, he couldn't even remember a time where she wasn't his friend.

He heard Lea laugh even louder trying her best to catch her breath and Cory joined in with her hysterical laughing. After a good couple of minutes he and Lea arranged that she would come over at 8 and then said their goodbyes. Cory jumped back in the shower to rinse his body, making plans about tonight.

**Note: first of all: I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER. My January has just been pretty hectic, but I promise in the future that I won't take as long as now. Okay, also this is kinda a short chapter, next will be longer! Thank you for sticking with it :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW! Kisses Jessica**


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